How to Do It or the Lively Art of Entertaining or Daisy Cooks

How to Do It or the Lively Art of Entertaining

Author: Elsa Maxwell

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Daisy Cooks!: Latin Flavors That Will Rock Your World

Author: Daisy Martinez

Julia Child introduced us to French cooking. Lidia Bastianich introduced us to Italian cooking. Now Daisy Martinez will introduce all of America to Latin cooking — her way. In a country where salsa now outsells ketchup, Daisy Martinez is out on a mission to change the way we cook. In her new cookbook, a tie-in to her public television show, Daisy introduces us to the mouthwatering meals of her Latin ancestry — and not just to the pork, beans, rice, and burritos many people associate with Latino culture. Here are Stuffed Yucca Fritters, Peruvian Minestrone, and Braised Chicken with Figs, to name just a few. By combining the delicious flavor of Latino cultures with ingredients available in any kitchen, Daisy shows us how to "daisy-fy" regular meals and turn them into something extraordinary.

Divided into twelve chapters such as Turnovers and Tamales, Appetizers and Little Bites, Soups and One-Bowl Meals, and Chicken, Duck, and Turkey, and filled with more than 200 recipes and color photographs throughout, this is a cookbook that will introduce a new culinary star.

Special features in the book include:
-Daisy's Top Ten: palate-rocking staple dishes and condiments that will expand your repertoire.
-Daisy's Corner: a series of essays about the intersection of food, family, and culture.

Daisy Martinez, star of her own public television cooking show, Daisy Cooks!, was born to mainland Puerto Rican parents in Brooklyn, where she lived in her grandmother's house until she was five years old. She attended the French Culinary Institute and runs her own catering business, The Passionate Palate. She lives with her family in Brooklyn, New York.

Publishers Weekly

Martinez serves up a jazzy tie-in to her new public television cooking show of the same name, and while the subtitle's claim that the recipes within will "rock your world" is pure hyperbole, Martinez does offer a decent introduction to Latin "soul food." The overly chirpy tone can feel cloying, yet Martinez succeeds in demystifying staples of Latin cooking. Starting with important such basics as Sofrito (a blend of onions, peppers, tomatoes and herbs that adds "zing" to dishes), Achiote Oil (which also adds a "quick kick") and Recaito (a Sofrito-like seasoning, sans the color and extra liquid), she moves on to tapas, soups, meats, vegetables, starches and desserts. Recipes for the truly cooking-impaired (e.g., Guacamole, Black Beans, Basic White Rice) are unnecessary, but exotic dishes like Breadfruit Tostones (twice-fried crispy chips), Sole Baked in a Banana Leaf, and Stuffed Flank Steak are welcome. Health-conscious readers, beware: this cuisine is laden with animal products, carbs and things fried and refried, and Martinez admits to leaning toward too-large portions, which she calls "Daisy Servings." Still, anyone new to Latin classics like Paella, Ropa Vieja, and Dulce de Leche should find plenty of motivation within these colorful pages. Photos. (Sept.) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

Martinez, the exuberant star of the new PBS series Daisy Cooks!, has an engaging style and a passion for food. Her parents were born in Puerto Rico, and the family table was an important part of growing up in Brooklyn, NY, where she still lives and runs a catering business. While Puerto Rican food remains "closest to her heart," she also loves other Latino cuisines. The 200-plus recipes presented here range from Spanish tapas to Cuban Black Bean Soup to Mexican chilaquiles. There are both traditional dishes, such as a mouth-watering Roast Chicken with Garlic Rub (one of "Daisy's Top Ten Hits"), and more contemporary ones, with Martinez's personal touch evident throughout. She describes her food as "full of spice and fun," and that also applies to her cookbook, which is peppered with entertaining anecdotes of holidays and other celebrations and lively photographs of Martinez cooking with family and friends. For most collections. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.